Olympic Liesl is Finished!

No, not the swimmer, but my sweater.

The pattern is Liesl by Ysolda Teague.

The yarn is Aran Silky Merino by Sundara in the Celestial Clouds colorway, a spring color from last year's "Seasons" yarn club. I used 600 yards (3 skeins) of the yarn and the sweater was knit in 8 days on 7.0mm needles.

I found pretty handmade buttons with the colors of the yarn swirled inside. The sweater should be dry and blocked, with buttons attached, and ready for wear on this week's short vacation to the beach.

Be back soon!

Summer Knitting

bluespringthaw1
Originally uploaded by cpaknit
I have been making good on the promise to myself to knit during my 8 week break from school. I finished my "Spring Forward" socks this weekend. I spent half of my knitting time squeezing the yarn to try to determine if I had enough to finish the second sock. Next time I will measure and wind the yarn into two skeins. It's not like I don't have the yarn meter to accomplish this.

I also started a "Sunshine and Shadows" triangle shawl from Evelyn A. Clark's "Knitting Lace Triangles". I ordered the book after finishing her Swallowtail Shawl. I gave the Swallowtail as a gift to a friend who was in need of a gift, and wanted to make myself something for fall. The "spiced" colorway of sock yarn from Sundara matches the leaf design and autumn feel perfectly.
Sundara's yarn are in demand, the last time I checked, she had no yarn available for sale. Luckily, I belong to her "Seasons Yarn club" and I haven't regretted signing up. I LOVE the shipments of yarn I receive, especially in the middle of the semester, even though I have no hope of doing anything with the yarn right away.

Gift for Baby S

I spent most of Friday doing the finishing work on this little cardigan for one of my newborn nieces, Baby S.

It is "Daisy" designed by Stephanie Pearl McPhee. The pattern is from Knitty, Summer 2003.

I'm glad I added the hood to the sweater. I grafted the top, rather than doing a 3 needle bind-off. I also added one embroidered daisy to the bottom of the back of the sweater. If I had it to do over again, I would have added more buttons and done a different type of buttonhole, something a little sturdier.
But overall, I am very happy with how the sweater turned out.

Storm Water Shawl

My dear husband gave me a fabulous knitting experience as a Christmas gift. I have tried my best to use my camera to capture a picture of what it is, but I have failed to properly show the beautiful colors of the yarn. Please click on this link to the Storm Water Shawl to see a picture of the kit I received. The Sea Silk yarn included in the kit was Wildflower.
The yarn is beautiful to look at, wonderful to knit with, and I can only assume it will be luscious to wear.

Cozy Feet

Thanks to all of you who left comments to help my hurting hand. It feels much better and I have been able to work on my knitting projects with alot less pain.

I finished these socks during the Christmas Holidays! There is nothing like a pair of hand knitted socks to make your feet feel special. I contemplated giving these as a gift, but decided they wouldn't be properly appreciated by others. These socks needed a home where they would be loved by someone who could understand why feet need socks made of $16 yarn and the time spent in knitting them.

Victorian Lace

One of the most amazing items I got from this year's swap lounge at the KR Retreat actually never made it into the room. Rosi brought a brand new copy of "Victorian Lace Today". She sat down next to Clara and me when she first arrived at the retreat and just happened to mention what she had brought to give away. Luckily, Clara will receive a copy of this beautiful book as part of her job as publisher of the Knitter's Review Newsletter, so that left me to calmly (haha) pipe up and offer to take it off of Rosi's hands and save her the walk all the way over to the next room.
For any knitter who loves lace, or those who think you might, please find a chance to flip through this book. The pictures are gorgeous and inspiring!
I began my first project soon after I returned home from the retreat. I had 1800 yards of vanilla Zephyr which I had purchased online from Rosie's Yarn Cellar in late August of this year. I decided to use the merino wool and silk yarn to knit the "Beginner Sampler".

Socks for Christmas

I was at this same point on a sock last weekend when I decided to restart from scratch as I didn't care for the pattern or the gauge. This sock is the same yarn as the original sock, a machine washable, hand dyed merino wool that I bought at Stitches East.

The pattern is from "Sensational Knitted Socks" and the stitch pattern is the baby cabled rib.

Is It Cold Enought Yet?

It's been so warm lately (75 degrees yesterday) that I haven't been able to wear the socks I knit for myself. Don't get me wrong, of course I had them on my feet as soon as they came off of the needles! But these socks are super soft and super warm, and the recent unseasonable weather has not been conducive to cuddly socks. But a cold front came into town last night and now I have the perfect excuse. (Why do I think I need one?)